first

Road Trip!

| patmcg

This weekend, we had our first road trip together as a family of four. It was Molly’s first real car trip ever. As far as I can recall, this was the first time she had ever left Austin.

The destination was Arlington, Texas, where my second cousin Worth was graduating from high school. We were warned that the ceremony itself, in which 750 people were graduating, was too long and for a mature. We were urged to consider doing “something else” with Claire and Molly during the actual graduation and just show up for the meet-n-greet afterwards at Worth’s house.

So rather than sit through the long, boring graduation ceremony, we sat through a long, boring drive to Arlington. The one-night trip took significant planning. We put together individual checklists of must-have stuff to remember for everyone, and we ended up with 55 things. Molly accounted for about half of the total. The list did not include the normal travel items, such as clothes, toothbrush, phone numbers, etc. The list was full of things like baby bottles, bottle scrubber, dish soap, bottle steam sterilizer bags, formula, teethers, bibs, Pack ‘n Play, baby sleep sack, kid’s pajamas, teddy bear, baby medicine, car window shades, DVD player, and so on.

Once we were on the road, the trip went surprisingly well. For a while, Molly and Claire seemed to enjoy having time to just sit and talk with each other. There was some giggling and a game vaguely resembling pat-a-cake. Claire also had a lot of questions for us about where we were going and who was graduating, and she indicated that she was excited to meet some teenagers. After a while, Claire started watching The Polar Express, her latest movie obsession, and Molly fell asleep and remained asleep for most of the trip. This was a double score because it would keep Molly from being groggy and irritable later.

Once in Arlington, we checked into our overcrowded hotel, where my parents were also staying, and headed to the graduation party. Molly’s cousins got to meet her for the first time. We passed Molly around from relative to relative. She had a little stranger anxiety (crying) early on, but she got used to everyone after a while. Claire got a little bored but did get to open up Worth’s graduation presents for him, which she did with great enthusiasm. She also got to admire cousin Richard’s yellow Corvette, which she could touch the roof of if she stood on tippy-toes.

Molly stayed up very late — it was 8:30 by the time we got her back to the hotel, about two hours past her usual bedtime! She and Claire ended up sharing the “living room” of the hotel suite, with Claire on the fold-out sofa and Molly in the Pack ‘n Play. Claire loved sleeping on the fold-out (a couple of weeks later at home, she asked for me to replace her flower pillowcase with a plain white one, just like at the Arlington hotel). And Molly took to the Pack ‘n Play just fine. Claire noted that the Pack ‘n Play was great because it could be used for “packing and playing”.

The next morning we had breakfast with my parents and headed back to Austin. The trip back was slightly less smooth. Claire got a little grumpy during a rest stop at McDonald’s because she wanted to keep playing on the playground (and she was clearly getting tired, although she would not admit it). And Molly ended up sucking on a pacifier from about Waco to Austin. Normally we don’t let Molly use a pacifier when she is awake, but the alternative was potentially hours of crying baby, so we made an exception for this car trip.

So there you have it, our first family road trip. I was initially scared it could have been horrible, with screaming and crying kids who couldn’t sleep or eat or settle down in a strange hotel room. But it went okay, and I am proud of both girls for making such great travel companions.

todo: Add pictures

That’s Not Baby Food!

| patmcg

Tonight, Molly, Claire, Kit, and Kit’s parents went to dinner at Magnolia Cafe. Unfortunately, I missed this one because I was off trying to catch up on work, thanks to the generous grandparent coverage.

Apparently Kit was eating a salad with Molly in her lap (uh oh!). Kit was trying to keep Molly out of her salad, especially since it had a big red heap of salsa on top. When Kit turned away for just a second to talk to Claire (or something like that) Molly jumped on the opportunity and grabbed as much salsa as she could hold in her little baby hand. And of course, being a baby, Molly immediately stuck the salsa right into her mouth. This is a baby who had thus far subsisted solely on milk, baby formula, and mashed vegetables and fruits. The idea of “spicy” or even “seasoned” was completely new to her.

Fortunately, Molly took fairly well to the odd mixture. She did not cry. She simply looked bemused and carried on with things. We can safely say that this was Molly’s very first taste of salsa or anything even remotely interesting for that matter.

Baby Buddies

| patmcg

Today was our mid-year teacher conference for Molly. We had the conference at 7:00 am so that Kit could participate before going to work. Claire and Molly were the very first kids to be dropped off at school that day!

We had a good discussion with Molly’s lead teacher, Karyn. We all agreed that we need to keep an eye on some of Molly’s “gross motor” skills such as putting some weight on her legs rather than let them dangle. We also agreed that Molly is doing great cognitively and socially and is having a great time at school watching her bigger friends. We learned that Molly has buddied up with Hudson, the other littlest baby in the class. Hudson was born a couple of months after Claire, but was bigger than Molly from day one! Molly and Hudson like to lay next to each other while they play where they can turn to look and smile at each other.

After the conference, Kit and I went in to visit Molly before going to work, and sure enough, there she was laying with Hudson. So I snapped this picture of the cute pair.


Solid Showing

| patmcg
Today, we gave Molly her first crack at “solid” food. By solid, I mean a mushy mass of rice cereal and formula that would make oatmeal look like a cake. Still, it was a big step. Molly had recently taken special interest in the stuff we are always putting into our mouths and not taking back out, aka food. It must almost seem like a magic trick to her.

This was a whole-family event. Claire was super excited about Molly trying solids. She understandably thought that rice cereal was some sort of breakfast cereal and suggested that she and Molly have it in the morning. At her request, we did make some rice cereal for Claire to try it out and help encourage Molly. Claire was not impressed but did eat some just out of pure enthusiasm. She made a point of showing Molly how to do it, eating it with big sweeping motions. Kit then gave Molly a spoonful of the mush, and Molly took a bite. She seemed surprised but excited by it. Of course, she ended up pushing most of the mush out with her tongue, but it was a good start. We kept this up for another few minutes, and Molly ended up doing a little better keeping the food down. She really had fun with it and seemed to think the whole thing was sort of a game. Also, she seemed to feel important and grown-up sitting up in the new Bumbo seat that Kit had picked up just that day just for this occasion.

For the record, while Molly enjoyed her rice cereal, the rest of the family dined on
enchilada casserole, thanks to the Soup Peddler. Claire was not excited about the food and tried to help out by putting it back in the kitchen before even taking a solitary bite. We convinced her to try three bites, and which point she realized it was pretty good and went ahead and ate the whole thing.

Pre-Season

| patmcg

This may or may not mean anything to Molly, but today she officially saw her first glimpse ever of baseball. We were flipping around the TV during a brief afternoon break, when a pre-season spring training game between the Cubs and White Sox showed up. Wow! The first whiff of summer! We may be one step towards putting this dreary, ill-stricken winter behind us. And Molly just saw the first proof.

Mad Rolling!

| patmcg
Between stomach problems and various illnesses for the past few weeks, Molly has not been making great strides physically. She is still a very small baby and mostly lays around on her back. But for the first time since early-to-mid January, Molly has had a solid stretch of full health and good eating.

Last weekend, Kit and I both agreed it was time to get Molly exercising again to work up her strength and endurance. Namely, this means tummy time, or laying flat on her belly. This does not sound too tough, but it is a workout for Molly. She strains and cries as she arches her back and lifts her head to look around. After only a few minutes, she is crying and exhausted, and we have to pick her up to let her catch her breath. Last weekend, Kit started Molly on a really tummy time regimen of three times a day.

Well, Molly’s good health and this focus on tummy time seem to be paying off. Molly hit a major milestone at school today. During tummy time, she rolled from her front to her back, and then again from her back to her front. She even repeated this a few times! She also started to relax during the tummy phase, and looked around and giggled instead of straining and crying. Way to go, Molly! we are glad to see you “back” on track!
todo: picture


The Dreaded RSV

| patmcg
I had never heard of RSV before, but now I sure have.
It stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus. In kids and adults, it is basically just a cold. In a baby of Molly’s age, it is a nasty viral infection that takes 7 to 10 days to clear up. I could go on for some time about this nasty thing, but let me just hit the highlights:

  • Molly came home from school on Friday 1/15 irritable and with a bad cough. The teachers said she “wanted to be held most of the day”, by which I think they meant she was fussy. Either way, this was not the usual Molly.
  • That Friday night, Molly’s cough continued, and she had a lot of trouble sleeping. We had to hold her, taking shifts sitting in the glider most of the night.
  • On Saturday, Molly was in worse shape than ever. She was miserable, and Kit and/or I had to hold her all day to keep her even slightly comfortable. We literally could not put her down without her crying, and she cried in our arms a lot too. We verified that Molly had a low fever. Poor Molly.
  • Saturday night was the worst yet. Molly was uncomfortable, coughing and wheezing all night. There was no peace for Molly or any of the rest of us, except for Claire and Muffin, who were sleeping downstairs across the house.
  • Kit’s mom and dad, and Kit’s uncle Bob came up for a “quick visit” on Sunday afternoon. Kit’s mom ended up staying to help for a few days (and nights). Since it was only supposed to be a day trip, she had not packed anything for the stay. So went to Walgreens only to get a toothbrush. Kit’s mom mostly handled Molly during the weekdays while Kit worked and I got some work done.
  • We ended up making two separate trips to the pediatrician. On the first, they said it might clear in about four days, which seemed like a long time for a cold. On the second visit, they verified it was RSV with a blood test. They said it would be a 7 to 10 day ordeal, and then it would only gradually peter out. They put her on a saline breathing treatment to help a little with the congestion, but there was no medicine they could give to help Molly.
  • Molly’s fever subsided, and she became well enough during the day to take her back to school. The good teachers at school were willing to do Molly’s nebulizer treatment a couple of times a day.
  • Molly’s smile returned, between coughing attacks, after the first couple of rough days.
  • The nights continued to be pretty tough. Molly’s hard-earned ability to put herself to sleep so consistently and her routing of sleeping through the night with one middle-of-the-night feeding were out the window. Hopefully they will be back soon!
  • I am writing this on Jan 25, ten days after this thing started, and Molly is mostly better, but she is still exhausted and sometimes extra fussy. She had 5 or 6 hours of naps today and was still over-tired and cranky when we tried to put her to sleep at 7 tonight. She sometimes still coughs and wakes herself up, but now she does sometimes manage to put herself back to sleep. So this is progress!
So there it is, Molly’s first real nasty illness. We are really glad to gradually be putting this behind us!


Molly’s First TV Show

| patmcg

Today was the first time I put on a TV show specifically for Molly’s entertainment. Sure, she has seen a little bit of TV just from hanging out in the living room, but this was the first show just for her.

I was looking for a way to help Molly relax while I did her nebulizer sodium chloride treatment for her lingering RSV infection.  Kit and her mom had been using the mobile for this purpose, but it was sort of unwieldy to set up up by myself.  So why not pull out a classic?  I put on the DVD of Claire’s old favorite: Baby Einstein: Baby Shakespeare.  As with Claire, Molly was engrossed by the puppets, music, and moving toys, and she did not mind the nebulizer one bit.

Now these Baby Einstein videos might not may your baby a genius, but you would have to be a real dummy not to use them from time to time!

Sleepin’ In

| patmcg

Here is an interesting first for Claire. This morning around 7:00 am, I was downstairs making breakfast and waiting for Claire to wake up. Claire came out and said, “Daddy, I’m still a little tired. Will you put me back to bed and put my covers on real flat?”

Of Claire’s four years, this is the first time I recall Claire wanting to go back to bed in the morning to sleep a little longer. She’s never been a big sleeper, but Claire has been tired lately. Perhaps because she is battling the same RSV / cold that the rest of us are, and it has wiped us all out. Still, it is nice to see that Claire has come to appreciate the benefits of sleeping in a little bit.

Claire has also been falling asleep very quickly at night. Sometimes at the five-minute check after tuck-in, Claire is already asleep. She is almost always asleep at 15 minutes. This is a big turnaround from the past, when she would sometimes take an hour or more to fall asleep.